Waiting for a guy's telephone call
can drive some women nuts. They pace; they exercise; they eat; they try
desperately to distract themselves from that ever important ring. Tennessee
Williams must have had a direct line to women's hearts when he tapped in
to that "When will he call" purgatory. With a play full of women, he starts
things off in "A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur" with a woman in love waiting
for that darn phone call. What comes instead makes for unique Williams'
entertainment.

"A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur"
is considered one of Williams' minor works. The play, rarely produced,
focuses on four women - none of whom are as dramatic as Blanche DuBois,
Maggie the Cat, Amanda, or Laura. However, put four of Williams' women
in one room and you can bet that something is going to happen, especially
when one of the women rips out an engagement announcement from the society
pages of the local newspaper.

In this one-act, no intermission
play, Williams brings together a kind-hearted woman, Bodey (Carlin Glynn);
a grieving woman, Miss Gluck (Jayne Taini); a betrayed woman, Dorothea
(Analee Jefferies); and a snake of a woman, Helena (Joan van Ark). Director
Michael Wilson casts outstanding actors in these pivotal roles and then
lets the interaction light up his stage. These women are distinctly Williams
and as colorful and lively as the Creve Coeur amusement park where a picnic
outing is planned. While the play is minor, the women share one major Williams
characteristic - loneliness.

Dorothea is a schoolteacher who
has a crush on the school principal. He has led her on and, unknown to
her, is engaged to a high society gal. His long awaited phone call never
comes. Bodey is Dorothea's kind-hearted roommate. She wants to fix up her
twin brother with Dorothea at the Sunday picnic. Helena, a snake of a woman,
wants Dorothea to share expenses and room with her in an upscale apartment.
And then there is Miss Gluck, an obese woman distraught over the recent
loss of her mother.

All four women convey Williams'
loneliness. And they all deal with it differently.

Annalee Jefferies is the fit as
a fiddle Dorothea. A hundred sit-ups a day is only part of Dorothea's daily
plan and Jefferies makes the workout look effortless. Filled with romantic
dreams and illusions, Dorothea quickly turns into a realist when her lover
proves false. Joan van Ark is decked out in a smart, expensive pink suit
and a plumed hat, but she might as well have been wearing snakeskin for
her portrayal of a viperous conniving woman.

Carlin Glynn plays the helpful friend
with convincing sensitivity, and Jayne Taini as the bereaved daughter is
as garish as she is pitiable. This first rate female ensemble captures
Williams' poetic spirit.

Jeff Cowie's apartment house created
by suspended windows and doors rising ever higher floor by floor and ultimately
suggesting a veritable Ferris wheel ranks among the memorable sets for
this state of the art theater. John Gromada's sound effects and David C.
Woolard's costumes reflect each character's nature. Even though the plot
is slim, director Michael Williams turns a minor Williams play into a major
Hartford Stage production. The play runs through May 7. It's a great opportunity
to see a play that is rarely staged. It's a must see for fans of Williams.